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7 años secuestrado por las FARC (Spanish Edition) by Luis Eladio Perez, December 29, 2008

Luis Eladio Perez’s account of his time in captivity was released scarcely a few months after his liberation and cornered the market to begin with.

This account shines due to the politician’s clarity and sincerity and can be recommended to any Spanish speaker who wishes to understand further the situation in Colombia.

Cautiva (Spanish Edition), Clara Rojas, October 2009

Perhaps this could be the memoir that sheds light onto all of the happenings in the jungle regarding Clara Rojas, the birth of her son Emmanuel, Ingrid Betancourt and Luis Eladio Perez and of course, the three American hostages.

While the book is not yet for sale in stores, pirated editions have been spotted on the streets of Bogota.

News of a Kidnapping by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, May 1997.

A sobering take on the state of play in Colombia in the 1980s and 1990s when kidnapping was a very real threat to people of every social strata in Colombia.

Garcia Marquez combines brilliant journalism with his abundant literary talent and creates a novel that moves every reader.

The Cloud Garden: A True Story of Adventure, Survival, and Extreme Horticulture by Tom Hart Dyke and Paul Winder, December 1, 2005.

Published a few years ago, this is a recommended true story written by two travelers – perhaps somewhat eccentric – who decided to cross the notorious Darién Gap from Panama in Colombia on foot.

For an interesting and perhaps different take on captivity, be sure to pick up a copy…after all, how many people have you heard of that created orchid gardens to remain sane?

Of course the big seller will be Ingrid Betancourt’s memoirs of her time in the jungle as a captive if and when it comes out.

The former presidential candidate is said to be working on her account and it will likely answer many of the questions put to her from the other books written by her fellow hostages.

Photo by George Donnelly

Over the past few years of living here in Colombia, I have seen all of the Harry Potter novels presented to me at intersections and stop lights in major cities, but last week, remained surprised when the vendor approached our window with a copy of Fuera de Cautiverio (Out of Captivity) translated into Spanish just a week and a half after it was shipped here in English.

I guess it should not be too much of a shock really as the book – put together by Gary Brozek and three Americans (Marc Gonsalves, Keith Stansell, and Tom Howes) who were kidnapped by Colombia’s notorious FARC guerrillas and held for 5 years and 4 months – is presumed to offer so much in the way of answers and shed some light on various questions surrounding their captivity and the captivity of other notable figures.

To a casual reader, Out of Captivity provides an insight into the horrendous conditions that “prisoners of war” in Colombia are subjected to, the illnesses they suffer, their struggle for sanity, comprehension of events and some information about their captors.

To a Colombian, and therefore revealing why it needed to be translated so fast, the book serves to try and unravel some of the great questions about the enigma that is former Colombian Presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, her character, her politics, her survival.

Of course, the whole story is not revealed in the slightest and the book takes the form of three separate narrations from each of the protagonists during similar and eventful periods of their captivity.

Great emphasis is placed upon their own thoughts and spirituality as it should be, in particular their thoughts for their families.

Perhaps there are two great gaping holes in this body of work and these come in the form of lack of information about the Dutch FARC guerrilla who the three contractors met early on during their stay in the jungle and whose diary was discovered after a bombing raid on a FARC encampment in the southern jungles.

Photo of Ingrid Betancourt courtesy of Wikipedia.org

In addition to this, there is no firm speculation about who the father of Clara Rojas’ child Emmanuel is.

For those who are in the dark as to who Clara Rojas is, she was Ingrid Betancourt’s campaign manager who became pregnant while in captivity. The saga of her son Emanuel – born in captivity, taken from his mother and then after months, delivered to Colombian social services – became a cause followed all over Colombia.

Not for genuine interest in the humanity of the situation, but rather, it became a somewhat farcical soap opera in which the only thing people seemed to really care about was the identity of the boy’s father.

Could it be a high ranking FARC official, was she raped, was it one of the Americans?

Operation Check Mate (Operacion Jaque), the daring and now legendary rescue of the Americans, Ingrid Betancourt and other politicians, is addressed as the closing finale to their Colombian sojourn. It makes compelling reading but ultimately leaves one wanting…as it should and as we should expect from the very beginning.

After all, there is a long running civil war in Colombia and the present government will have done everything in its power to stifle the distribution of any classified information.

Classic literature Out of Captivity is not, but a riveting and compelling read it surely is – entailing the personal struggles of the three hostages, the politics and conniving nature of the FARC and the struggles of the guerrilla themselves.

This is a book that can be read cover to cover within a sitting and will leave the reader astonished at the hardships endured by those who have undergone similar experiences.

Keep this work circulating as it will serve to remind the authorities in Colombia that there are an estimated 2,000 people still in captivity in this country.

Photo by mattlemmon

How about that erudite character who would always (without fail) mention that “the book was better than the film” or the irrepressible geek who must have had an almanac of the “Top 10″ of everything written on his forearms to be able to produce statistics and facts on any subject?

Being a well-traveled and worldly bunch, we may have all become that “guy” to some extent. We all have opinions and harbor an inner desire to holler at the misrepresentations brought about by powerhouses in Hollywood.

Or do I stand alone on this one?

This whole diatribe came about when I managed (albeit painfully) to sit through all 108 minutes of the unwatchable Schwarzenegger vehicle, Collateral Damage (2002) some weeks ago.

Photo by mattlemmon

The errors were glaring, the inconsistencies hurt, and moreover, it got me to thinking about all the time Hollywood had spent and the money invested into painting an inappropriate portrait of Colombia.

Some errors are glaring examples of poor judgment, others involve deeper misunderstanding.

For those who have followed my ruminations in various sources of the Matador Network it is no secret that I am a Colombia-based freelance journalist.

I own a new guesthouse in the Macondian destination of Mompos, and my bias is obvious, unbridled and loud.

The films that follow are in no particular order.

Collateral Damage (2002)

It just so happens that the guerrilla/rebel base in Collateral Damage, a flick in which we are hard pushed to imagine an aging yet hulking Austrian Governor of California going undercover in the Colombian jungle, is in Mompos.

How director Andrew Davis or the three credited writers got away with this is unknown to me. So, in 108 minutes, I became that guy.

Mompos is not in the jungle and is far from being a rebel lair. In fact, back in 2002 it did not suffer from any rebel incursions.

Price: $13.49 | BUY

Mr and Mrs Smith (2005)

Doug Liman’s pseudo assassin romantic comedy initially fell when shown in Colombian cinemas with the partisan crowds guffawing with laughter or walking out in disgust.

Bogota is portrayed as a humid, elegantly decaying colonial slum with bombs detonating and stray bullets thudding into buildings.

Architecturally, the setting resembles Cartagena – without the throngs of cruise ship day-trippers – but of course I hasten to add that bombs exploding relentlessly and disparately cannot be further from the truth.

Also, just for the record, Bogota has an altitude of rough 2600 meters and is far from tropical – a minor oversight.

Price: $14.99 | BUY

Blow (2001)

Ted Demme’s opus features Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruise delves into the greed and excesses of the 70’s and 80’s cocaine trade with admirable aplomb but overlooks the very fact that Pablo Escobar’s ranch, Hacienda El Napoles in the Aburra Valley close to Medellin should not appear like a Mexican finca.

The environs shown are dusty and arid; the department of Antioquia in this region is anything but. It is verdant and lush, and Escobar’s finca was considerably more opulent than the version shown on screen.

Price: $7.99 | BUY

Proof of Life (2000)

The film that is mainly remembered for setting the stage for Meg Ryan and Russell Crowe’s amorous dalliance.

In effect it is not a bad yarn, but it all seems too convenient, the characters are too polished to be out here and it is all filmed in Ecuador with obvious Ecuadorian backdrops but is placed in the film as a fictional South American nation of Tecala.

Just check out the closing shot of La Virgen del Panecillo that towers over Quito. The ELT (Tecala Liberation Army) can only be loosely based on Colombia’s FARC or ELN.

It is worth noting that the kidnapping of foreigners in Colombia has been falling year on year in line with overall kidnapping statistics for this country.

Price: $5.99 | BUY

Clear and Present Danger (1994)

The frenetic hijacking scene involving the white Suburbans was meant to be Bogota, it is of course filmed in Mexico, and does not represent the low nature of the houses in the Candelaria, Bogota’s downtown historic district.

With regards to foreign interference in Colombia’s conflict, perhaps Harrison Ford through the medium of Tom Clancy’s writing came close through jumbled sequences t explaining some of the complexities faced here.

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The Good

To get a better flavor of contemporary Colombia, see the following films that pull punches and deliver.

We are all aware of Colombia’s justifiable cocaine induced notoriety. Perhaps we need to leave the movie-making to the Colombians and indie film makers more disposed to telling the whole story and portraying real and different angles.

Maria Full of Grace (2004)

Maria Full of Grace is a sympathetic view of a girl’s experience in becoming a drugs mule transporting cocaine pellets in her stomach to the US. The footage in Queens is particularly convincing as several of the characters are playing their real life roles.

Price: $14.99 | BUY

Sumas y Restas (2004)

This movie is quite effective in showing how a Medellin engineer became involved in cocaine industry in the 1980s. Watch as his life spirals out of control and pay attention to the Jekyll and Hyde character of his narco contact.

Price: $24.75 | BUY

Paraiso Travel (2007)

Perhaps the best film to come out of Colombia last year. An interesting take on two young Colombians who make the journey illegally to the US. You can easily put yourself in the young man’s shoes – lost and a long way from home.

Price: Not Available | BUY

La Virgen de los Sicarios (2000)

A harrowing and bloody tale of assassins in Medellin. Perhaps the most gruesome of all the films listed in this piece. But there is no joking that Medellin back in the day was a dreadful place. The turnaround has been shocking.

Price: $25.98 | BUY

Sonar No Cuesta Nada (2006)

Based on the true story of a Colombian army outfit that, upon stumbling upon some hidden guerrilla wealth, decided to share it out amongst themselves. Poorly paid and often forgotten these soldiers did what many of us would do. Many remain on the run while other languish in prison.

Price: $15.49 | BUY

Killing Pablo (2009)

This upcoming movie is based on the life of Pablo Escobar. Based on Mark Bowden’s best selling novel, originally Javier Bardem was slated for the part of Pablo Escobar but reports say that Edgar Ramirez is now favoured..

We wait and see.